Car Craft Summer Nationals 2017 The World’s Fastest Model T

Mike Warren of Lobelville, Tennessee comes across as any typical, enthusiastic gear head you might run into at a car event, however, the vehicle he brought out to the Car Craft Summer Nationals this year is anything but average. This one off creation started life as the shell of a 1926 Model T, that no one, not even the local Model T club wanted anything to do with. Rather than seeing the husk of the car as a lost cause, Mike saw it as an open canvas to do whatever he wanted and got to work in his shop.

After taking a trip to Bonneville, Mike had always wanted to build a land speed racer. He wanted a competitive vehicle but also needed to keep the project within a relatively low budget, which required some creativity. As a result he crafted a chassis for the car from steel tubing, designing everything from the SCTA-legal cage to the custom four link hooked to a Ford 9-inch from Ford8and9InchRear.com (his only sponsored part) with 2.47 gears in the rear. Mike incorporated a factory straight axle from a 1937 Ford, and in an effort to help minimize bump steer and make it more drivable (yes, he drives it on the street regularly), he incorporated a rack and pinion steering complete with power assist. The car sits on Ridetech’s Shockwave air ride making for a comfortable ride and giving him the ability to adjust his ride height with the push of a button. Wildwood disc brakes and a functional parachute provide the much needed reliable stopping power. Upon finishing his chassis, he dropped on the model T body and decided to take four inches out of the bottom, nearly eleven inches out of the A pillar, and nine inches out of both the B and C pillars, giving the roof its aggressive rake. He proceeded to paint the body with a foam roller, giving it a very unique finish.

In order to save some money on the power plant, he sourced a 454 cubic inch big block Chevy from a friend’s old boat. He had the engine bored 0.060-over and bolted on a set of Brodix oval port heads and a matching intake manifold that he happened to have stashed away. In order to get the power he needed, he opted for a twin turbo system using log manifolds he fabricated himself, a set of inexpensive 70mm GT45 turbos, wastegates and blow off valves he purchased off eBay, and a blow-through Holley carburetor from Horsepower Innovations. The fuel system consists of an Aeromotive belt-driven fuel pump and regulator, and the car is set to run on E85, making it what he refers to comically as an “Environmentally friendly” vehicle.

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The whole project took only two years to complete building, and Mike built much of the car from scratch. The T already has some respectable accomplishments under its belt. Mike took the car to the Ohio Mile in 2016 and it ran a best of 205.9 MPH with his good friend Justin Brand behind the wheel making it the self proclaimed “World’s Fastest Model T.” After accomplishing that goal he put a set of Super Scooper paddle tires and ran it at the Waverly dirt drags, then most recently found himself the winner of the burnout contest at the 2017 Car Craft Summer Nationals, where he spun his drag radials to the cords.

The “Warren Special” may very well be coolest and most capable model T ever created and Mike stated that the entire project cost him less than $8,000 from start to finish. We think it’s safe to say that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of the world’s fastest Model T.

Mike is a fan of Drag Week winner and chassis-builder Jeff Lutz and asked him to sign the cowl of his hot rod. Jeff was more than happy to oblige.These headlights from a 1928 Studebaker Champion are turned around to improve the aerodynamics of the car at high speeds.As you can see, when Mike got his hands on the car it, was in pretty rough shape. All he really needed was part of the body, so he wasn’t concerned.